


Champion

by Fenchurch87



Series: Tales of Kirkwall (and Beyond) [22]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Song Lyrics, Song Parody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 22:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15495660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenchurch87/pseuds/Fenchurch87
Summary: Marian Hawke stops off in a tavern on her way to Weisshaupt and hears a familiar song. Originally written in response to a writing prompt on /r/dragonage.





	Champion

**Author's Note:**

> Champion is sung to the tune of Billy Joel's Piano Man. It doesn't entirely scan correctly, but hopefully it works well enough.

Marian Hawke took a sip of spiced wine and then settled back in her chair with a sigh. The tavern was full of people, and she had had to fight her way through the crowd to reach her tiny table in the corner. Other tables had been closer, but she preferred to sit at the back where she could watch and listen, hopefully without being noticed.

She had been heading North West along the Imperial Highway for some time now, and she had made it to Churneau, one of the last settlements in Orlais. Beyond lay Andoral's Reach and the pass that would take her through the Blasted Hills and into the Anderfels. She had a feeling that this might be one of her last chances to sleep in a real bed, and so she was taking full advantage of it.

She liked the atmosphere in the tavern. The people here seemed happy and relaxed, even though the world was falling apart. Perhaps word of the Inquisitor's deeds had given them hope. They smiled and sang along with the bard, who stood on a small stage close to the bar. He was singing _The Three Maids of Starkhaven_ , one of the bawdier tavern songs. Hawke took another sip of wine and joined in for the last chorus.

The bard played a final chord on his lute, and the tavern erupted into applause. He waited for the clapping to die down before announcing another song.

“Thank you. Now, this next song is one of my favourites, and I hope it's one of yours as well. Feel free to sing with me. I'm sure you all know the words.” He strummed the first three notes, and the audience cheered. The bard grinned. “It's called _Champion_.”

 _Oh no._ Hawke pushed her chair as far back into the corner as she could. She desperately wanted to leave, but that would only draw attention, especially since she had only just arrived and her glass was almost full. She would have to stay and bear it. She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible as the bard finished his introduction and began to sing.

 _She came by ship as a refugee_  
_When Lothering fell to the Blight_  
_She spent a year working at the docks_  
_Smuggling goods for Athenril by night_

 _But Hawke had a plan for a better life_  
_The Deep Roads were promising gold_  
_She set off with zero and came back a hero_  
_Her hands full of treasures of old_

 _La la la, di di da_  
_La la, di di da da dum_

 _Sing her a song, she's the Champion_  
_Sing her a song tonight_  
_Well, we live in a world full of misery_  
_But Hawke's here to make it alright_

 _Now Kirkwall was battling the Arishok_  
_Who was washed up here in a storm_  
_He was missing the tome so he couldn't go home_  
_And attacked with his Qunari swarm_

 _He fought, and he killed, and he took the Keep_  
_And Viscount Dumar lost his head_  
_Hawke bested the Arishok in a duel_  
_And soon the Qunari was dead_

 _Oh, la la la, di di da_  
_La la, di di da da dum_

 _The mages were tortured by Meredith_  
_She kept them in chains for life_  
_Her corruption was fed by the lyrium red_  
_But Hawke put an end to the strife_

 _Orsino was practising blood magic_  
_And he needed to pay for his crimes_  
_The monster was slain by our Champion_  
_She's a legend in these troubled times_

 _Sing her a song, she's the Champion_  
_Sing her a song tonight_  
_Well, we live in a world full of misery_  
_But Hawke's here to make it alright_

 _Now the Wardens were hiding at Adamant_  
_They were panicking over a song_  
_They thought death was near so they gave in to fear_  
_But sadly they'd got it all wrong_

 _For the song was a ploy by Corypheus_  
_And Hawke could see through the disguise_  
_The demons defeated, the Wardens depleted_  
_But saved from a certain demise_

 _Oh, la la la, di di da_  
_La la, di di da da dum_

 _Oh, sing her a song, she's the Champion_  
_Sing her a song tonight_  
_Well, we live in a world full of misery_  
_But Hawke's here to make it alright_

By now, the bard had set his lute aside and was conducting the whole tavern in a sing along. As the last note died away, everyone began to cheer and clap. Hawke couldn't stand it anymore. She downed the rest of her drink and left the bar, hoping the people were too distracted to notice her hasty exit. The third verse, added after the Kirkwall rebellion, was bad enough, but what was that last bit? _It didn't happen like that at all!_ she thought angrily as she climbed the stairs to her room. _What about the Inquisitor? What about Alistair? They should have written a song about him, not me._

Inside her room, she took off her boots and then lay down on the bed.

“Why do they think I'm a hero?” she wondered aloud. “I'm just a nobody with a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She took a few deep breaths. The truth didn't matter to these people, she realised, just like it hadn't mattered to the people of Kirkwall. They saw her as a hero because they needed her to be one. She sighed. She could never be the hero they deserved, but she would try. She would always try.

 


End file.
